Malawi Police failed to reposnd to an armed robbery at Chipiku Store at Ginnery Corner in commercial city of Blantyre Wednesday evening.

A gang of about 10 men, brandishing guns and pangas, attacked the shop at around 7pm stealing money and injuring people in the process.

An eye witness told Nyasa Times that one thug pointed a handgun at a male employee and the two demanded cash.

They grabbed undisclosed amount of cash swept from the tills and drove off.

Despite the shop being close to Police southern region headquarters, the security forces could not rapidly come to the shop though they were sounded about the attack.

Picture depicting a hooded bank robber

Armed robbery cases in Malawi have become rampant and worry investors apart from putting people’s lives at risk.

About K39.9 million worth of property has reportedly been lost in cases of armed robbery between January and June this year.

Elsewhere

And this week, in the central region district of Nkhotakota, six unknown armed robbers attacked a Pakistan national and made off with cash and property worth over MK 3.5 million.

The incident occurred during the night of November 22, 2012 at Dwangwa Trading Centre in Nkhotakota when the criminals broke into a house of Manzooh Hassan, 30. The victim is a Pakistan national and a prominent businessman based at the trading centre.

Nkhunga Police Spokesperson Laban Makalani said during the night, the robbers who were armed with two pistols, panga knives and metal bars broke into the house of the Pakistani national at about 1:00 am after fastening a security guard whom they found outside the house.

“The robbers gained entry into the house by force and managed to open main door. They then managed to break into the bed room of the victim where they demanded cash from him,” he said.

The spokesperson said the victim, who runs Ajemeri Superette and also operates as an agent for Airtel, TNM and Access mobile companies, gave the robbers a bag containing money amounting to K395, 000.00 which was part of his previous day’s sales.

Makalani further said the robbers later on demanded for the victim’s car keys, of which they were offered, before speeding away using the stolen vehicle.

Following the development, the victim rushed to the Nkhunga Police Station where the police mobilized themselves and managed to pursue the culprits.

The officers managed to recover the vehicle, a Toyota Corolla registration number BK 3919, after it was found abandoned at a road side inside Kazilira sugarcane field in the northern part of the district.

The police have since opened a case of robbery with violence against the criminals and have intensified investigations in order to round up the suspects.

Currently, the police is appealing to members of the general public to come forward with information which may lead to the arrest of the suspects and recovery of the stolen items.

The police further advise members of the general public to refrain from keeping large sums of cash in their houses.